Improvement in corn-planters



A. GOLTON.

Corn-Planter.

Patented May 28, 1861.

Witnesses:

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

AARON OO LTON, OF ATTIOA, NEW YORK.

V IMPROVEMENT IN-CORN-PLANTEARS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 32,412, dated May 28, 1861.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AARON UOLTON, of Attica, in the county of Wyoming and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Corn-Planter; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, in which-- i Figure l is a side elevation, the front wheel being removed to better exhibit the working parts. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the frame, seed-hopper, and dropping and covering devices, the wheels and. axle being removed. Fig. 3 is an inverted perspective viewof a portion of the frame, showing the furrower, clearers, distributer, and covering-gage.

Like letters designate corresponding parts in all of the figures. r

The working parts-of my machine, as represented in the drawings, are suspended from a common two-wheeled truck, Abeing one of the wheels,-and the axle being shown in end view at B'. The two longitudinal pieces of the thills G G extend back of the position of the axle, being connected together by the two transverse bars D E, and these, with the two oblique pieces F F, constitute the frame, which is suspended from the axle B by two chains, 9. These chains are attached, not to the axle, but to crank-arms h on each end of a rock-bar whichlies parallel with the axle in eyes provided therein to receive it. The hand-lever j is attached to it and'rises beside the drivers seat G, enabling him to turn this rock-bar, and thereby raise or lower the frame at will, both to gage the depth of its working and to' raise it clear of the ground when it is required to move it without planting. A ratchet, I, is provided to catch the lever j and hold the frame at the desired height. A pair of upright rods, H, rise from the frame at each end of D and pass through holes in the axle, above which they are bent downward in the form of braces and attached at E. These serve as guide-rods and keep the framein its proper position relative to the axle of the truck. This arrangement of the frame and axle enables the machine to be constructed in avery light manner and places it very completely under the control of the attendant as regards raising and lowering and dropping the seed, as will be hereinafter explained,

The seed is contained in the two boxes K K, from which the dropping is efieced by means of the slidebar J. A reciprocating motion is imparted to this box by means of the elbowlever L, pivoted to the frame-piece D, which is actuated by means of the connecting-rod 7c, which is attached to the foot-bar M and moves with it. The attendant occupies the seat G, with his foot resting against the bar M, which, at the proper moment, he presses down, moving the slide-bar Jand dropping the seed for the hill. The bar is returnedto its proper position by the force of spring Z. If the ground is prepared by being cross-furrowed, he can drop the seed with great precision, as the motion being made by a slight efl ort of the foot and the seed 'simultaneous1ydislodged from the hopper, his observation is not interrupted and the operationis instantaneous. The amount of seed or number of kernels dropped ata time is regulated by the adjustable plates 2' i, which, by means of a slot and set-screw, may be moved to increase or diminishthe opening through which the seed passes from the hopper. Immediately below this opening a piece of thin sheet metal bent into the form of an inverted A, 0, Figs. 1 andB, .is so placed as to divide the orificesand spread the kernels which pass it, so that they will not fall together, but will be scattered in the furrow sufficiently for free and unobstructed growth after germination. This plate may be bent to make the angle moreor less acute and spread the seed more or less accordingly. The furrow for the receptionof the seed is made by-the share N, which is followed by a series of small teethjor spikes, r r, the office of which is to remove stones, clods, turfs, and other obstructions that might fall upon the seed previous to its being covered with finely-pulverized soil bymeans of the covering-shares R S. One of these is provided with a gage, T, to regulate the depth to which the seed is covered. This consists of a metal plate running horizontally from the share to which itis attached over the furrow in which the seed is dropped. It isso connected by means of a'screw-bolt and slot that it maybe raised and lowered, and its ef feet is to scrapeaway or remove any dirt that may be thrown over the seed above a certain depth. This is highly necessary in ground of uneven surface, where the shares are liable to penetrate the soil so far and cover the seed so deeply in some places as to prevent its germinating.

This device insures the covering of the seed to a certain and uniform depth, which may be varied to suit the requirements by simply altering the position of the gages. The. whole constitutes a machine which possesses many advantages, being light of draft, planting with plants two rows and requires but one horse for draft.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

' The combination and arrangement of the frame 0 D, carrying the seeding devices, with AARON conron.

Witnesses:

R. P. TAYLOR, O. B. BENEDICT. 

